“WANT for nothing!” Perhaps some of my readers will say, “Ah! there are not many who can say that.” Let me give you a picture of the one who said to me, “I want for nothing,” and of her surroundings. Enter with me a tiny cottage, with ceilings so low that there is scarce room to stand upright. The narrow mullioned casement shuts out almost as much light as it admits, and as we enter the room, the steam from the wet clothes drying at the fire rushes out into the cold fog of a bitter winter’s day. The damp has penetrated to the poor little bedroom, which we reach by climbing up the dark, ladder-like stairs which lead to it.
Here lies one whose frame is constantly shaken by her racking cough. Her emaciated hand is feebly put out to touch our own. A radiant smile lights up her wasted features as we speak of Jesus who loves her and will soon take her home. We speak of her sufferings, of her husband, of her family, of the little ones especially, so soon to be without a mother’s care and love! Her eyes fill with tears, knowing that she must leave husband and little ones behind her in this hard world, and in poverty, yet she says, quietly and calmly, “I want for nothing.”
Do you ask how such a thing can be? Ah! here lies the secret. This woman, so poor and helpless, is trusting in One who is able to meet all the deep need that surrounds her―the Lord who had told her not to be troubled about anything, for He would care for her.
It had not been always so with her; she had murmured, as others do, when hard times came, but one day she discovered the glorious Person who had thought of her and loved her―yes, loved her, even unto death; she learned that His blood had washed away her sins, and that she was fitted to enter those gates, the very material of which speaks of stainless purity―the gates of pearl. God had shown her that she was utterly unable to make herself fit to enter there; she knew that there was an eternity before her, to be spent either in heaven or hell. She fled to Christ and found pardon and peace, and, believing in Him, was given joy unspeakable and full of glory. The light of the glory was so near and so real to her, that she felt no need, only peace and joy. The Lord’s bright presence enabled her to say in reality, “I want for nothing.” O.